Hoyt Wins NPF Award for Contributions to Journalism

Clark Hoyt will be honored with the W.M. Kiplinger Distinguished Contributions to Journalism Award for his achievements during a half century in journalism.

Hoyt will receive the award at the National Press Foundation’s annual journalism awards dinner on Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Washington, D.C., along with other award winners. Learn more about the NPF dinner here.

The NPF judges for the Kiplinger award said: “Clark Hoyt has been a steadfast champion of free, independent and responsible news media throughout his career at Knight Ridder, the New York Times and Bloomberg. Clark supported the Knight Ridder Washington Bureau’s critical coverage of the Bush administration’s case for invading Iraq in the face of sharp criticism and skepticism, even within some of his company’s own papers. Clark has won many awards for his work, from the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 to the John S. Knight Gold Medal, Knight Ridder’s highest employee award, in 2004. One of journalism’s toughest jobs is ombudsman, and Clark served as public editor of the Times with distinction. He is also an abiding supporter of journalism training, serving as one of the earliest NPF chairmen.”

Accepting the honor, Hoyt said, “I feel doubly honored because this award is named for a giant of journalism who stood for the highest values of our craft and comes from an organization that has supported generations of journalists with training to help them cover complex, contentious issues fairly and with rich factual context.”

Hoyt’s career began as a reporter in Lakeland, Florida, where his first assignment was to cover a Ku Klux Klan turkey shoot. During 38 years at Knight Ridder, he was a reporter, manager, Washington bureau chief and ultimately vice president for news. Hoyt was public editor for The New York Times from 2007 to 2010, and was an editor and advisor at Bloomberg News until his retirement in 2015. Hoyt’s full bio can be found here.

The W.M. Kiplinger Distinguished Contributions to Journalism Award was established in 2002 in honor of William M. Kiplinger, who maintained the highest standards of journalistic integrity, performance and dedication to his chosen profession over 50 years. Starting with the Kiplinger Letter in 1923, Kiplinger Washington Editors now publishes five newsletters, Kiplinger Magazine, books on economics and an online news service.

The National Press Foundation is an independent nonprofit that is run by and for journalists. NPF’s sole mission is to educate practicing journalists about today’s most pressing issues and critical toolbox training.